In computer systems and communications systems it is often desirable to replicate or divide signals to provide a signal to more than one input. This may be desirable in a variety of systems in which it would be beneficial to replicate a signal for provision to a plurality of devices or a plurality of inputs. One such system may be a testing system in which it would be desirable to test multiple devices simultaneously using substantially identical inputs. In such a system, the input signals may be generated individually, or individual input signals may be divided and provided to a plurality of devices.
In order for accurate testing results to be attained, the inputs may need to be substantially identical. Standard techniques for dividing signals often fail to maintain accurate signal levels or signal phases when dividing the signals. In many systems, this inaccuracy may compromise accurate testing. For example, and not limitation, certain systems may require the testing of the tolerance of input and output levels. If the inputs are not exactly as desired, a device may pass or fail various tests based on faulty inputs and thus produce inaccurate test results.
Additionally, inaccurate testing may increase production costs as accurate devices may fail a test and be rejected due to a faulty input signal. Also, the reverse situation may prove to be even more costly as faulty devices may appear to pass a test due to a faulty input signal. Those skilled in the art of system design and testing will recognize the importance of accurate input data when testing components.
Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize the benefit of testing many devices in parallel without the need for a separate signal generator to generate an input signal for each device to be tested. A low cost signal divider that produces accurate results may eliminate the need for numerous expensive signal generators by allowing a single signal to be divided and provided to a plurality of devices.
In addition to testing systems, the need for accurately dividing a signal into a plurality of substantially identical signals may exist in a variety of contexts. Any system in which a signal is provided to a plurality of devices may benefit from a device capable of accurately dividing the signal while maintaining accurate magnitude and phase.